Juvan, Fernandez make Rome debuts in qualifying draw

ROME, Italy - Rising teenagers Kaja Juvan and Leylah Fernandez

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Slovenian 19-year-old Juvan made her Grand Slam debut in memorable fashion at Roland Garros last year as a last-minute lucky loser on Court Suzanne-Lenglen and has continued to rise ever since, stretching Serena Williams to three sets at Wimbledon a month later and scoring wins over Venus Williams and Marketa Vondrousova

View Profile this year. The World No.113, whose claycourt nous was evident in her junior days when she captured the 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medal in Buenos Aires, faces No.3 seed Lauren Davis

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Meanwhile, 18-year-old Fernandez has been one of the fastest climbers on tour even in a pandemic-struck 2020. The Canadian has shot from her year-end 2019 ranking of World No.209 to a current career high of World No.104 thanks in part to a run to the Acapulco final in February, and continued to impress on tennis's resumption on the US hard courts. Junior champion at Roland Garros last year, Fernandez is the No.15 seed in the Rome draw - which marks not only her tournament debut but her first ever outing on red clay at WTA level - and faces an intriguing opener against the crafty Swiss No.3 Stefanie Voegele, who was the Newport Beach 125K runner-up in January.

Two former Top 10 players seeking to return to former glories also stud the qualifying draw. Sara Errani

View Profile , a finalist in Rome in 2014, impressed on reaching the Palermo quarterfinals in the week of the tour resumption, and will again hope to be buoyed by home support as she faces No.7 seed Irina-Camelia Begu

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Heading the draw are No.1 seed Bernarda Pera

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Click here to view the full 2020 Rome qualifying draw.